Nelly’s Italian Cafe

The spinach calzone is wonderful and what I always order at Nelly’s. Today I decided to try the eggplant parmesan. It is one of my favorite meals, but I am really picky about how it’s made. I am so glad I gave it a try, it was amazing! It is thinly sliced and fried crispy, before layering it with cheese and then covering it in marinara sauce. It is by far the best I have had in years! The homemade fruit tea was a refreshing addition to the meal. I definitely appreciated that they used real silverware instead of the usual plastic fare found often found in counter service pizzerias. I’m not a pizza fan, but my husband is, he gave their slices a rating of 7. He found the crust to be a little tough and in need of more cheese. I on the other hand, have no complaints, and it is one of my favorite restaurants in the Spring Hill area.

OK, well I have to start off to say but the pizza is great, it is the closest to New York style that I’ve had since living in New York. The restaurant is little but I think it’s perfect for its location. Their menu selection has plenty to choose from, and their new Italian market is like a mini version of Pastosa (you New Yorkers will know what I mean). I’m going with four stars instead of five because my garlic knots although fantastic came out pretty darn cold and the restaurant has no napkins or utensils stocked where they’re supposed to be you have to ask. Other than that no complaints and I can’t wait to come back and try am white pie.

Good Pizza! always get a large pepporini, extra well done.

Amazing!!! We tried several thing from the menu and they were all amazing!!! Can’t wait to go back.

OH. MY. GOODNESS. So delicious! The crust/​dough is what makes the garlic knots & calzones so amazing. The ingredients were high quality too. I read some other reviews dissing the wait & lack of service, but these idiots must not be able to read. You walk in & the sign tells you to order at front & minimum 25 min wait since made to order. It was worth the wait!

Food is so authentic and very nice owners. It is the perfect Italian restaurant in Spring Hill.

Our first visit to get a pizza there, only large and extra large pizza on menu. Large was $ 16.00 with no toppings and toppings are $ 1.50 each «even» if on one half??? Anyway got it and very wet pizza and sauce is spicy a bit, crust reminded me of cardboard. So over twenty dollars plus tax for a so-​so pizza, hey your toppings were good and if you fix the rest I would come back if you then offer small and medium sizes.

Absolutely the best pizza and subs in the entire Nashville area! Being born and raised in Brooklyn, I assure you that I know a thing or two about true N.Y. style pizza… and Nellie’s is as good as it gets! Excellent subs and main dishes as well, not to mention the incredible cannolis and tiramisu for dessert. And don’t forget the garlic knobs as an appetizer!

This is literally the best place to get pizza in Columbia and Spring Hill hands down. It’s hot. It’s fresh. It’s authentic New York style pizza. Their cannolis are to die for. Their pasta is spot on. If I find out a friend of mine hasn’t tried their food I always drag them here so they can try it.
No other pizza place can compare.

What a gem to find In the south… Great tasting food… Their calzones are made like they do in New York… This is a must do in Spring Hill

The best sandwich I have had in years.
They must make their own bread it is like garlic knots bread without the grease.
Every chance I get

Wow, this is great pizza. I got two Larges (not the XL) for $ 17 – 24 each, and 2 pieces filled me up… I had 12 pieces left! Loved the quality of the ingredients used, the sauce, and the amount used, especially for The Supreme, allow me to elaborate.
1. The Supreme ($ 24) — Pepperoni, Ham, Beef, Sausage, breathe, Zucchini, Squash, Onions, Spinach, Mushrooms, Green and Black olives. That’s a whole lotta pie, and about an 1″ thick. I loved it, and the sauce was fantastic. My least love was the crust, a hand-​tossed medium thick crust that held up well, but didn’t have much taste. (4.5 stars)
2. The Hawaiian ($ 17) — Quality ham and plenty of it, with pineapple. Very good.
I got these «to go». It’s a bit of a letdown inside, with a narrow hall and 6 booth tables. After all, they have a really fancy sign, I expected a full-​service nice restaurant. I like the menu. Mostly pizzas, but salads, fried zucchini (my fav), garlic knots, lasagna, pastas, chick parm, calzones, and stromboli’s. New York style? Everyone says so, but I’ve been to NY for «za», and I don’t think so. Would I go back for pizza «to go» here? Heck yes.

Co-​workers brought me here for lunch when in Columbia for a meeting.
Ordered promptly.
I had the lunch special Double Crust Meat-​Lover slice. Which was highly recommended on the way there. Apparently very popular as I got the last slice.
Order brought to table after minimal wait.
My «slice» took up a significant portion of 2 paper plates overlapping. Rarely have I run across a single slice of pizza filling enough to only need 1, but this did just that.
Restaurant itself is pretty small with limited crowded seating.
Stromboli that 2 of co-​workers order looked just as good and portion size was comparable to my «slice».

I’ve tried this place twice, the first time was when it first opened and honestly it wasn’t good. I ate inside with my wife for dinner, the restaurant wasn’t crowded but was incredibly cramped, dirty and filthy. The pizza wasn’t great, it tasted like it was out of the box with frozen ingredients added.
Fast forward several months, we got a take out pizza and 4 cannolis. All I can say is wow. The pizza is your true New York style, thin crust, dripping cheese masterpiece. I’ve not tasted pizza that fresh and filling in a long time. I ordered the extra large (18″) pizza with pepperoni and cheese. On a side note, this pizza is gigantic and the slices are massive, both qualities I can appreciate. And the cannoli? Amazing.
Do yourself a favor and abandon the local chain pizza shop and pick up a pie here. The only downfall is it does take around 30 – 45 minutes before you can enjoy your pizza so order accordingly and timely. But then again, a pizza like this deserves the wait.

The best extra large pepperoni and extra cheese pizza in the area! Every time we order our pizza it is fresh, tasty, perfect and always ready when we arrive. The employees are friendly. The place is always packed with eat in customers as well as customers picking up their yummy Italian pizza and other delicious dishes. We tried the calzones on one order and they were also perfect, delicious, and stuffed with the best ingredients. You can tell Nelly’s uses fresh ingredients and that makes all the difference in the world. I recently ordered from a big chain competitor in Columbia and I will never do that again. Nelly’s you have my continued business and appreciation.

Excellent food and super nice people. Delicious pizza, strombolis, chicken parm and lasagna! Consistency is key and they have it down. You won’t be disappointed.

If you love Italian you have found the closest thing to being in the homeland. The chicken parm Stromboli was the best thing I’ve had since my great grandmother past away. If you love food you’ll love this place. It’s a religious experience.

Tried this place after getting a groupon for it & wasn’t disappointed. Nothing fancy about the place but the prices were cheap with large portions & excellent quality. They were busy & service was a little slow because of the crowd but they made up for by offering free desserts.
The dining area is small but they seemed to have a lot of carry out business. I’ll definitely be going back.

Listen, this is really a 3 star review, but I feel obligated to recognize the fact that this is a Pizza place and I didn’t eat pizza. So I’ll round up.
The alfredo sauce was under seasoned and a little blank. On the other hand, the stromboli was a little salty. One thing I did note is that the ingredients all appeared to be of the highest quality and fresh, and there’s something to be said about that.
I did catch them near closing and picked up my order, so I’ll likely give it another shot down the road.

There is no place better than Nelly’s Italian Café for authentic Italian food. From traditional NY style pie to tasty lasagna this is the place to quench your craving for Italian.
IT’S ABOUT THE SAUCE: house made top secret family recipe. No canned Sysco sauce here. It’s not a sweet sauce but yet the garlic roots don’t overpower it. Perfect on the pie or for dipping a calzone or meat lovers slice as well.
SHOW ME THE DOUGH: this house made, hand stretched dough is the perfect foundation to their pizza. For those who frequented the old Joeys in Spring Hill you will miss seeing Ryan hand toss the pizzas but know that back in the kitchen he is tossing the dough high in the air to get that stretch!
THAT’S A SPICEY MEATABALL: many will say that true test of any Italian eatery is the meatball test. Nelly’s passes this with flying colors. These handmade meatballs are perfectly spiced and lovingly cooked each day. Perfect on a sub, in pasta or as a top